While You Were Sleeping
by Twisting Demon
Summary: My take on the events that occurred between the time Ruby unleashed her power on the tower in Beacon and her waking up back home in Patch, chronicling the struggles and minds of each character as they try to make sense of the chaos and tragedy that marked the end of volume 3. Neo chapter! Relight the torch! Last chapter currently late due to IRL commitments. Sorry!
1. Qrow: The End of the Beginning

"I gotcha kiddo."

"Qrow! We have to go!"

Flying Grimm screeching all around them. Steel beams and gears collapsing into the ground below. A small tiara, glowing red from the heat, stood by his feet. He picked it up and placed it on his belt. Behind him a distraught combat instructor trying to make sense of the chaos. In his arms he carried a small human figure, unconscious, shivering in the cold air. A tiny frame wearing a hood of red and black. It was such a juxtaposition, he thought to himself, seeing what he saw. A young girl of black hair and a rood coat, exploding outwards a great flash of white that enveloped everything on top of that collapsing tower that once stood proudly over Beacon, over the city of Vale. The tower was now just a shadow of its former self, as was the school that once trained the best of the best. The defenders of the world, now scattered in panic, as the life they once knew lay just as shattered as the school they once called their home.

A white light consumed everyone on top of that tower. As Qrow picked up his niece and her weapon, he stared at awe at the once enormous and terrifying Grimm that brought down so many of Atlas' prized cruisers, now frozen atop the tower's remains. All signs of the fighters that brought down the tower were all but gone, save for the tiara that now lay on the floor, its owner gone. All he knew was that Pyrrha and Cinder fought on top of that tower, and everything beyond that fact was enveloped in the bright light that came from Ruby's eyes. He and Glynda rushed to the top upon hearing from Weiss that Ruby had made her way to the top to help Pyrrha. That moment Qrow already knew. He didn't need to be sober to know that if they were late, there would be disastrous consequences.

And there were.

"Where is she? Where is she?!"

Qrow screamed as she carried Ruby in her arms. With both Cinder and Pyrrha nowhere to be found, the aftermath of the tower's destruction provided more questions than answers. Realizing that staying any longer would be dangerous, all three of them descended from the tower aboard an Atlas Bullhead. Aboard the Bullhead were the remaining members of Team RWBY. Weiss was taking care of an injured Blake and Yang. Qrow put an oxygen mask on the still unconscious Ruby, laying her down on a stretcher. Glynda was reporting their findings to Ironwood, who was now aboard his flagship and finally beating back the Grimm hoard. Qrow looked at his niece with worried eyes. With Yang having lost her right arm and Ruby releasing an, until today, unknown power within herself, he knew he had a lot of explaining to do to Taiyang. An explanation that was likely to include a few threats and a few punches on their father's side.

"Nothing? Only Ms. Rose? What happened to the intruder and Ms. Nikos?"

"Yes James. Nothing. All that remained of Ozpin's office was burnt out rubble and that giant Grimm frozen on top. It's highly likely that the intruder escaped. It would seem we failed. She got what she came for."

"And you say that Ms. Rose froze that Grimm? Are you sure?"

"Yes. That's the only explanation. None of your ships even managed to hurt that thing. It would seem Ozpin was right."

"Then… that girl… and the remaining maidens… they're our last hope…"

As part of Ozpin's inner circle, all three of them knew immediately what that meant. Ozpin had shared some of what he knew of the people of the silver eyes. All Qrow knew at this point was that Ruby possessed a power equaling, if not surpassing, that of the maidens. Her survival was now paramount, he said to himself, as he caressed his sleeping niece's forehead. While he was proud of what Ruby was and how she had spared Vale further destruction, he was also filled with a sense of fear and dread. Fear and dread because he knew that Ruby was now set down a road she cannot leave. A road that, eventually, would be filled with fighting, suffering and, if it comes down to it, death.

"Set down at the base. I'm going down to the vault."

"What? That's dangerous! We don't know what's down there!"

"Look. Ozpin's gone. We need to find out what happened down there. Something. Anything."

"Qrow…"

"Get the girls back to the safe zone down and come back for me. I won't take more than half an hour, I promise."

Qrow took the last shot of whiskey in his canteen and handed it to Glynda before getting off the Bullhead. As the Bullhead ascended, Qrow looked towards the main tower entrance and the plaza in front. He had always known that the threat from the shadows was fast approaching. It didn't even occur to him that it would come so fast, so efficiently and so… brutal. Merely 3 days ago this plaza, with its gallant statue of a hunstman and huntress in front, was full of eager and wide-eyed students prepared to prove their worth in the classroom and in the combat halls. This was the birthplace of many of the world's future protectors. Now… a slaughterhouse. He clenched his fist as he parted the front door.

He entered the tower lobby, now in disarray with countless wires and gears strewn about. The main elevator was now broken, the shaft empty. He was thankful that the emergency staircase to the vault beneath was still intact, and it was only a few stories underground. The security door had been pried open. He descended down the now barely lit staircase, the smell of burned rubber and metal emanating its way up. Holding his scarf to his face to block out the smell, he ventured won to the bottom floor into the great hall that once housed Ozpin's secrets. Just like the lobby above, countless flame-singed pillars and destroyed marble columns littered the place. It was clearly the site of a great battle, its outcome both fairly obvious and still a mystery.

Ozpin was perhaps one of, if not the, best fighters on the planet. Qrow knew that if he were to somehow lose or choose to leave, it would be for the right reasons. Still, there was no sign of Ozpin or his foe aside from the wreckage of battle. Undaunted, he approached the Aura Transfer Machine pods. In the pod to the left lay Amber, with an arrow through the glass and in her chest. He didn't need to touch her to know she was already dead. The girl he had rescued had now passed on her powers to her assaulter, with the dire consequences evident around him. Beside the pod lay a walking cane. He picked it up and knew almost immediately that this was Ozpin's cane. It was left neatly leaning on the control panel with nary a scratch on it. If Ozpin was really defeated, then there would be no reason for it to be placed so carefully beside the machinery.

Qrow smiled and remembered Ozpin's words. A few days after Qrow rescued the Fall maiden, in this very same room, Ozpin had warned them of darker tides to come. Qrow distinctly remembered Ozpin telling them that, should he ever leave them his cane, it means he has something he has to do. By himself.

"Heh. Fine Ozpin. You go do what you have to."

Carrying Amber's lifeless body, he headed back up to the plaza where the Bullhead was now waiting. Qrow lamented that he had spent much of the day carrying people's living and lifeless body's. On the Bullhead was Glynda and Ironwood waiting for him, waiting for news.

"Is she…?"

"Yes James. Whoever that woman was, she's got all of it now."

"And what about Ozpin?"

"He's… gone. And I found this."

Qrow showed them Ozpin's cane. Glynda's face immediately went sullen. Ironwood had a stern expression. Both knew what this meant.

"Ozpin… I hope he knows what he's doing…"

"He almost always does, Glynda, even though he never tells us."

Qrow sat down on in the Bullhead and pulled out a canteen of whiskey he had somehow hidden under the seat. Taking a whiff and a sip, he looked out the window and surveyed school and the city below. For the most part, much of the fire that had engulfed the school and its immediate vicinity had died down, with only a few Grimm scattered about. By this time huntsmen teams from the other areas of the continent had already arrived and had subdued much of the rampaging creatures, however most of the Grimm had already started congregating in the center of Beacon around the tower itself.

"What's the report on casualties?"

"… At least 6 students died, countless more injured. We still don't have accurate figures on civilians and tournament visitors. In fact, almost a third of the victims were due to your own forces James…"

"…"

Ironwood sat beside Qrow and looked at Qrow's canteen. Knowing what he wanted, Qrow handed him his whiskey.

"I guess now's a good time as any to start drinking."

Qrow and Ironwood, despite working together, always had a slight degree of animosity towards each other. Qrow never really liked Ironwood's tendency to rely on force and bravado, while Ironwood often criticized Qrow's more sneaky and underhanded methods. In the end, though, both did their job well. More so now, with Ozpin gone, that they needed to step up and put their differences completely aside.

"Glynda… how's Ruby and Yang?"

"They're both still unconscious, but they'll be fine. Yang didn't lose a lot of blood with her Aura protecting her, but the shock of the trauma still knocked her out cold. Ruby… that power of hers… the doctors say she's just completely exhausted."

"Just like her mother the first time…"

"Qrow… is this what Ozpin was telling us about?"

"Definitely. You actually believe Ozpin's story now James?"

"Let's just say I still wouldn't believe it if we didn't see it with our own eyes. If she really is one of them… well… I'll leave that to you Qrow."

"So what's your plan now?"

"… I'm pulling my troops out. People will just get agitated if they see our combat droids around. Your huntsmen should be able to handle things now. You… take charge Glynda…"

"And you Qrow?"

"… I'm taking my nieces back to Patch. They need time to rest, plus I've got a lot of explaining to do to their father. Ruby… she needs to know. About what happened on that tower. About herself."

"Qrow… the Cross Continental Transmission system is down. When you go back to Patch and I go back to Atlas…"

"I know I know. Back to old school communication now. Looks like we'll have to do our own things for the time being."

The Bullhead had just landed in the field hospital near the docks in western Vale. Waiting for them was Jaune Arc, eagerly anticipating any news from Beacon. During this time Yang was already undergoing emergency surgery in the field operating room, Ruby was resting in the makeshift ward and Ren and Nora were helping with the giving first aid to injured civilians. Jaune worriedly paced back and forth by the landing pad as the Bullhead landed and went straight to Qrow.

"What happened? Have you found her? Is she alright?" Where is she?"

Jaune, while obviously tired, was frantic when the Bullhead finally touched down. Qrow had barely taken a step out of the transport when he was accosted by Jaune. Healready knew what Jaune was planning before they even landed. His heart winced inside, realizing what he had to do. He had been the bearer of bad news all day already, but this was different. This was worse. He had already stopped Jaune from forcing his way back to Beacon when they found him in the city, having been launched by Pyrrha in the rocket locker. He had promised Jaune that he would bring her back.

He did… just not in the way he had hoped.

"Is she okay?"

"Jaune… I'm sorry…"

Qrow reached into his belt and pulled out the tiara. The tiara, having been subjected to the searing heat of Cinder's flames, had already slightly melted, its inlaid gems barely hanging on to their sockets. The gold plating had begun to flake off. The smell of burned metal mixed with the faint scent of the perfume its wearer once used. In the inner lining of the tiara glistened with glass that had fused with the metal. It was ash that was heated so much that it became glass and fused with the tiara.

Qrow handed the tiara over to Jaune, whispered in his ear and walked away, leaving him standing there motionless, soulless, tears streaming down his face.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Ever since the shocking events of the season 3 finale, I tried to make sense of the events that happened between Ruby unleashing her power on Cinder and the giant Grimm and when she woke up at home in Patch. This is how I imagined what each of the characters had to go through and what went through their heads as they tried to cope with the events and the tragedies they caused. Each chapter will detail specific characters so this will continue as I try to delve into each character. While I make this, my other ongoing work (With or Without You) will still continue, so please leave reviews for this and my earlier stories!**


	2. Blake: I Won't Let You Touch Her

"Weak pulse! Get her into surgery now!"

Blake barely had any time to react as the field surgeon and his aides pulled Yang out of the Bullhead. She and Sun bandaged Yang's arm as best as they could, but with the entire arm severed almost the the shoulder there was only so much they could do to stop the bleeding. Her Aura had started to run out keeping her bleeding in check, and by the time they got picked picked up thee bandages were already soaked in blood. During the entire ride to the field hospital Blake placed her head on the unconscious Yang's shoulder, tears coming down her face, apologizing for everything.

Apologizing. And apologizing. And apologizing. Sun placed his hand on Blake's shoulder the entire trip, doing his best to console someone who was essentially inconsolable. A heart consumed by guilt.

"Miss... please wait out here. We're going to have to perform emergency surgery on your friend."

"How... how is she doc?"

"She's lost a lot of blood. If it wasn't for her Aura I doubt she'd have survived the trip here."

The surgeon went back inside the surgical tent. Blake, having finally started to calm down, sat on a bench just outside. She looked around, finally calm enough to survey the world around her. She could see countless bodies, living and dead, being transported into the field hospital grounds. Those lucky enough were given immediate medical treatment. Those who weren't were covered by clean white sheets, their identities unknown until unfortunate family members could identify the bodies.

And this assuming there were bodies. Blake recalled the chaos in the fair grounds as countless Grimm pounced upon the hapless visitors. Many were maimed, some killed, some... eaten alive. Those who were taken to the hospital were fortunate in themselves. She knew that for some people, their bodies may never be found.

"Blake... catch."

Blake was snapped back to reality by Sun, who tossed her a can of cold chamomile tea. While warm chamomile tea was her favorite, this was good enough for her. She took a sip and felt much of the exhaustion slowly disappear from her body. The pain in left side had started to subside. She could feel herself think clearer, speak clearer, feel clearer. Sun lurched back on his side of the bench, stretching his back and legs, trying to shake off the fatigue. He placed his hand on her shoulder again.

"She'll be fine. She's... she's the toughest girl I've ever seen."

"I know... but... that's not the problem..."

"Problem?"

B drank the last of her tea and stood up. She looked to the east towards the shattered moon. She could see the faint silhouette of other smaller ships moving east over the Forever Fall. She knew deep in her heart those were White Fang transports, which meant Adam had escaped. In a fit of both rage and sadness she crunched the can of tea and hurled it out into the open field in the moon's direction.

"What are you-"

"He'll be back! I know it! And this time he'll finish the job!"

"Blake..."

Blake slumped down on her bench and placed her face on her palms. Sun could see tears drip down between her fingers. He felt an impulse to give her a hug, but he knew somewhere inside that nothing he could do know would stop her/.

"He'll... finish the job, and he won't stop with just Yang. He'll go after all of you. Ruby, Weiss, you, Jaune... everyone."

"Blake how can one person-"

Blake got up and glared straight at Sun, her face barely inches from his.

"You don't know him like I do. The hate he has... it's unreal... unnatural. Adam... I've seen what his hate can do. I tried to run from that... but now... how can I even run from such reckless hate?"

Backing away from Sun, she stared at the fists she was making with both hands.

"I don't have a choice... for everyone's sake I have to... I..."

"Excuse me miss?"

Their intensely emotional discussion was cut short by a gruff voice coming from inside the tent. The surgeon came out and handed something over to Blake. Blake's eyes widened upon seeing what it is.

"Since there's no immediate family here and I could tell that you two were... close, I think you should hold on to this."

"This is..."

Ember Celica, or at least one half of it. Her mind instantly zapped back to that moment, barely two hours ago, where everything changed for her. She could see herself lying on the ground as Adam thrust his sword into her gut. The moment where an enraged Yang, pure uncontrolled fury in her eyes, leaping towards Adam. In a split second what should have been a fight was already over. Ember Celica floated down towards the ground, still attached to an arm removed from its owner. She heard a loud thud as Yang's unconscious body slumped down onto the ground. Everything after that was now a blur in her mind. She hugged Yang's gauntlet as she closed her eyes and bowed her head to the ground.

"Blake... I'm..."

"Don't Sun... just... don't."

Within a moment she raised her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. With a look of determination she thrust Ember Celica onto Sun's arms and sprinted towards the airfield.

"Blake! Where are you going?"

"Hold on to that for me! There's something I have to do first."

She sprinted towards a Bullhead that was preparing to leave. The Bullhead was about to return to Beacon with Beacon, Ironwood and Qrow on board.

"Miss Goodwitch! I need to come with you!"

"Miss Belladonna you are in no position to-"

"Please... Miss Goodwitch... please..."

"Glynda... let her on."

"Qrow!"

"Blake, was it? This is for my niece, isn't it?"

Blake nodded, trying to hold back her ears.

"Look... Blake, we're going in to get Ruby and Weiss from the top of the tower. Whatever it is you need to do, do it quickly. We don't know how many Grimm are still around. You'll be on your own."

"I'll... I'll be fine."

"Heh."

Qrow smiled at Blake and an irritated Glynda as the Bullhead ascended. Blake looked down at the devastation to the city, brought about not just by the Grimm but by the White Fang as well. She believed deep inside that she too was partially responsible for this. It gripped her heart like a vice, knowing that Adam's vengeance has brought so much suffering and death to others, not just to her own friends.

Within minutes the aircraft had arrived at the base of the tower. Blake got off on the roof of the cafeteria, the site of her fateful reunion with Adam Taurus just hours ago.

"We'll pick you up here on the roof. Be quick and be safe Miss Belladonna."

Words of encouragement. Glynda closed the door to the Bullhead as it ascended to the top of the tower.

"Ruby... Weiss... please be safe..."

Gripping Gambol Shroud in her hand, Blake headed down the roof and into the cafeteria hall. In spite of all the mess of broken tables, spilled food and still decaying Grimm corpses, the main hall was devoid of human, Faunus and Grimm activity, save for one. At the end of the hall, at the exact same place where Adam had cut Yang down, a Beowulf held in its mouth a shiny yellow object. The curious Grimm tried to sink its teeth into the metal gauntlet to no avail, and was now just content with just attempting to swallow it. Blake would, of course, have none of that.

"You... GET AWAY FROM HER!"

In a split second forward lunge, Blake had cleanly severed the Beowulf's head from its body. The long lost sister gauntlet of Ember Celica fell to the ground with a loud clank, the arm it was attached to had already melted away from the Beowulf's acidic saliva. Blake had wanted to try and recover Yang's arm, which now was no longer possible. Clutching the gauntlet to her chest, she slowly made her way out to the plaza. Qrow had just gotten off the Bullhead as she boarded. As she kept the gauntlet close to her heart, all she could think about now was how she could make things right and, most of all, how she could ever earn Yang's forgiveness.

These things weighed on Blake's already flurried mind. She absent-mindedly passed by Sun as she stepped off the craft. It took Sun shouting her name for her to realize what was happening.

"Sorry Sun... I'm..."

"Surgery's over. She's in the recovery tent now. They had to cauterize her arm so... even if you found her arm..."

"I see..."

Sun handed back the other gauntlet to Blake. Taking them both, she headed for the recovery tent to find Yang, still unconscious, with half a dozen tubes and wires attached to her. Her right arm was now a clean and well-bandaged stump, the excess skin and torn flesh now removed. Setting Ember Celica on the table beside her bead, Blake took Yang's remaining hand and clasped it between hers.

"Yang... I don't know if you can hear me but... I have a confession to make."

Yang's slow breathing and heart rate juxtaposed with Blake's racing heart beat.

"After... what happened to you in your match with Mercury... when you promised me that you were still you, the Yang that had been my partner since day one... the truth is... I lied. I didn't believe you when you said it because I... I was afraid."

Blake placed Yang's cold palm on her cheek as a tear dropped down her face.

"I'm a coward. You know I am. I was afraid and didn't trust you. I... wanted to run away that day. Away from you... and I almost did."

Blake's voice trembled with fear and regret.

"But today... I realized that running... only gets people I cared about hurt. If I didn't run... if I faced my fears then maybe... maybe you..."

She took Ember Celica and placed them by Yang's pillow.

"No more running. No more hiding. I have to end this. I have to make things right. Until that day comes, being with you... all of you... I'll only put you all in danger. I have to do this myself. It's either me of him. No one else gets caught in the middle."

She stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes, which now burned with a resolve unlike anything she had felt before.

"The three of you trusted me when no one else would. Friends to be with... a place to come home to... and I'll be damned if I let Adam you away."

She placed her hand on Yang's cheek and, parting her hair, kissed her partner on the forehead.

"Goodbye Yang. Please say goodbye for me to Ruby and Weiss. If... if all this ends well... maybe we'll see each other again..."

Bowing her head to her partner one last time, she exited the tent as Sun was about to enter.

"Sun... I'm leaving Yang to you. Thank you for everything."

"Blake... what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find a way to finish this. Please don't... don't follow me."

Blake ran off into the rubble beyond the fence that encircled the safe zone. As Blake disappeared into the urban decay, Sun heard the sound of moaning in the tent. It was Yang. She was awake. Groaning in pain, but awake.

"Yang! Yang can you hear me?"

"... Sun? What happened... my arm... wait... is Blake... okay?"

"She's fine... but..."

"... But? Where... where's Blake?"

Sun sat on the chair beside Yang's bed and slumped hid shoulders.

"I'm sorry... Blake... she left."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **So my plan for this will be each chapter being character specific. One chapter per character to detail what happened to them just after the tower fell and before Ruby waking up. This won't be just about the major characters, I'm also planning the supporting cast, as a way to plug in the holes that were left by the finale, which may actually be answered when volume 4 comes around. I'm trying to maintain some realistic faithfulness to the canon, so each character's stories will probably not deviate to much. As always please leave your review!**


	3. Weiss: I Will Not Abandon Them

"I will NOT abandon my friends!"

"And I will NOT abandon my daughter!"

A heated argument erupted between a tall, moustached man and a young white haired girl. Hours after the Grimm swept through Beacon and Vale wreaking havoc and chaos in the streets, the Atlas military was finally getting some degree of control. With the giant Grimm now frozen on top of the tower, Grimm were now amassing towards Beacon. The military had began cordoning off much of the school but were unable to control the Grimm that were flocking in. All they could do was make sue they didn't escape into the city. With no contact with the outside world, this was all they could do to contain the damage caused by Cinder.

Weiss stared at her father with a scowl. A large, stately gentleman who's eyes revealed years of experience, he spoke with a deep booming voice that matched his stature. Behind him were a platoon of bodyguards surveying the area as they exited Schnee Company Bullheads, having just arrived at the field hospital. Weiss could hardly have believed her eyes when she saw the company ships approach for landing above, expecting her sister to arrive with assistance from the corporation. She did not expect her father himself to be here. She didn't even know he was in the area, as this was the only way he could have come so fast with wide range communication down.

"So now you choose to care? When it's convenient?"

"Weiss! Watch your language!"

Winter spoke on her turn, standing beside their father. Unlike their father, she had a more worried look on her face as she directed company personel to assist with the relief efforts. It was in fact her who intercepted the news of the events at the Vytal Tournament, with frantic communications beaming out just before the communications tower fell. Their father happened to be just a few hours north inspecting the opening of a new Dust mine when Winter relayed the news. He dropped everything and took as much men and material as he could towards Vale. He would never show it, but underneath that stern demeanor was a man worried sick for his daughter. His daughter, of course, would never believe such a thing.

"Look... I'm a huntress. Okay a huntress in training. My friends are hurt bad, the city's a mess, Grimm are everywhere, and we have no clue where that mastermind is. I can't just leave these people.!"

"And how exactly do you intend to help? On your own? Sister you are but a student in a battle that makes no distinction!"

Winter's words stung. Weiss knew that she was in way over her head. Despite this, her sense of duty wouldn't allow her to tuck her tail between her legs and run. She saw just what had happened to Yang and Blake. Ruby herself lay unconscious on a stretcher in a tent just a a few meters away from them. Jaune was delirious with worry as Pyrrha was still missing. Out of all of them, she was the one who was still combat ready. Even then, the remaining teachers refused to let her help.

"Look... Weiss... your friends will be fine. When the situation has died down, they'll all be taken to safety. Each student will be taken back to their respective homes until we've made sense of what just happened. That includes you."

Their father had already turned around and started directing the company security and support teams to assist. They brought with them medicine, food and additional troops to fend of the Grimm. Weiss had to admit that things were already coming under control. It was just a matter of time. Her father came prepared. She felt in her heart that, yes, there was nothing more she could do. A tear started forming in her eyes when Winter suddenly gave her a big hug.

"We're all worried okay. Mother was frantic when father told her what happened here. Don't... make her worry any more than she has."

With a father that was usually absent from home due to work, Weiss was particularly close to her sister and mother. When Winter eventually went to Beacon to train and then joined the Atlas armed forces, Weiss really only had her mother as her family at home. She was the first person she told of her plans to enter Beacon. She was the one who helped convince her father to let her enter. Just the idea of her mother being consumed with worry made her feel guilty.

"General Ironwood assigned me to take control of forces here while he... purges the hacks to the system. Father will be leaving for Atlas in half an hour. He'll be expecting you on board with him."

"I... I know."

"I'm sorry Weiss. Don't worry. I'll make sure everything's okay here. You have half an hour. Enough time to settle things before you leave."

Weiss turned around and headed for the command tent by the perimeter, leaving a sullen Weiss to her thoughts. She eventually collected herself and headed for the tent where Ruby was resting. At least she was probably resting as Yang's angry loud voice could be heard from the tent just beside Ruby's. Coming out of the was Sun, who had broken the news to Yang.

"Blake! Blake! What the heck Blake what the heck!"

Yang was absolutely beside herself. The anaesthetic from her surgery thankfully placated her voice and her body, or else she might have burned the entire tent down in her anger. She was just shouting and shouting from her bed as the nurses tried to calm her down. Weiss came in and tried to help them calm Yang down. Yang, upon seeing Weiss, finally quieted down, allowing the nurses to finally resume their duties.

"Yang stop shouting! What's wrong? What about Blake?"

"Blake, she ran! She ran! She ran out on us! She just upped and left!"

"Left? What are you talking about?"

Yang sat up as tears streamed out of her eyes, her remaining hand holding her face as she could barely more her right arm.

"Sun... he told me. Blake left. He said he doesn't know why but she just left. She abandoned us Weiss!"

Weiss gritted her teeth in anger. She couldn't imagine what was going through Blake's mind and why she chose to run, but she knew that Blake just broke her promise again. Her promise to all of them to tell them what she's thinking and feeling so that they, as her friends, could help. As Weiss tried to make sense of this new development, her sister's words echoed in her head as her world started tearing itself apart. Winter was right. She was powerless. Yang is injured, Ruby's unconscious and Blake had just run away. And now... she was also just about to leave. She had no right to be angry, she thought to herself, now that she was pretty much abandoning Yang and Ruby at the behest of her family.

"I'm sorry Yang..."

"For what? It's not your fault, it's Blake. What the heck is she thinking..."

"No not about that. Yang... I'm leaving too..."

"You're what?"

Weiss knelt by Yang's bedside and bowed her head on the edge. Yang was dumbfounded.

"My father he's... he came to get me. With an entire airship even. He's... taking me back to Atlas. My mother's sick with worry. I'm sorry..."

Weiss felt so much guilt. First Blake ran off, and now her. She was expecting an angry talking down from Yang, who was already furious at it was. Imagine her shock when Yang instead suddenly calmed down and tried to give Weiss a hug. Weiss was too surprised to hug her back.

"It's... it's fine Weiss. Your family must be worried. If... if you need to go then just go. Don't worry about it. You have your reasons. At least... at least you had the decency to tell me you're going."

"I... thank you Yang."

"Weiss... umm... is Pyrrha...?"

"... Yeah. You're uncle... he found her tiara. She's... she's gone."

"... I... I see."

Both girls looked down. A small tear came down Yang's cheek.

"... Dammit... dammit all... how's... how's Jaune taking this?"

"He's... I actually don't know where he is. Nora and Ren said it would be best to leave him alone for now..."

"Yeah... I guess he needs some space..."

"Yang... I should probably..."

"Yeah I know. Get going."

Weiss got up and headed outside.

"Hey Weiss. Say goodbye to Ruby before you go... okay?"

Weiss headed to the adjacent tent where Ruby was. Having no apparent physical injuries, she looked like she was just sleeping. Weiss remembered what Qrow had told her about what happened, that the white light came from Ruby and that it froze the giant Grimm to the tower. Weiss could never have imagined that Ruby, of all people, held a power like that. Her partner, the youngest ever student at Beacon. Weiss had always felt that there was indeed something special about her partner, it just never occurred to her that it was something like.

Weiss sat by the girl's bedside. She listened to her slow, quiet breathing as she lay almost motionless, in a deep sleep of exhaustion. Her mind wandered back to that moment where she saw a flash of light coming from the tower mere moments after Ruby made it to the top. The light engulfed the entire tower as well as the ground below and around it. When the flash ended, all the Grimm around her suddenly vanished. Looking up she saw the giant flying Grimm, like a statue, frozen at the top. It would be a few more minutes before the Bullhead carrying Qrow would arrive to take them to the top. She was frantic when they found Ruby, alive but unconscious, with no sign of Pyrrha or Cinder anywhere. Despite not knowing what exactly had happened at the time, all she could think about was how her partner was faring.

"Ruby... heh... you took the limelight from me again. The youngest ever Beacon student, the youngest ever team leader... the talk of the school almost overnight... and now this..."

Weiss pushed aside Ruby's bangs from her face.

"I'm sorry but... I have to go. My father and sister came to get me. Communication's down and no one outside Vale really knows what's happening. My mother... she's really worried about me. I'm... sorry I can't stay. I know you'll be fine. You did take out a giant Grimm no one's ever seen before."

The sound of a Bullhead's engine revving up came from outside. She could tell it was the one her father came in on. It was time for her to leave.

"The school's destroyed and everyone... everyone's going their separate ways. They're taking the students back to their homes, just like me. I'm sorry Ruby... I guess I can't stay. Your uncle said he's going to take you and Yang back to Patch once Yang's stable. Maybe tomorrow. I'm... going on ahead, okay?"

Weiss got up and slowly headed for the door. Just as she stood, Ruby moaned and mumbled. Weiss smiled and laughed to herself.

"You better get well soon you little dunce."

With those words Weiss headed out. Schnee Company personel were now loading back into the Bullhead. Her father, surrounded by his squad of bodyguards, had just boarded. Winter was signing off on some papers when she saw Weiss approaching.

"Winter... take care of them, okay?"

"Don't worry. I'll make sure they get home safely. How about you, are you ready to leave?"

"Yeah... I'm ready."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **For this series, most if not all of it occurs in one place. Most events are occurring simultaneously or in quick succession to highlight the dire urgency of the situation. I don't actually know how much time passed between the tower and Patch, though I assume it was probably no more than a few days. I was actually hoping they'd explore more on the individual characters just after the events of the Vytal Tournament arc, but since they didn't, this fic was born from that.**


	4. Neo: Relighting the Torch

Hundred's of flying Grimm screeched and swooped as black smoke spewed out of the buildings that surrounded Beacon Academy. Atlas fighters maneuvered in and around the huge flocks that had covered the sky in darkness, trying to take back control of the skies that hours ago was infested so enough Grimm to block out the sun. Central command had only fully taken back control of their hijacked cruisers and were finally mounting a respectable offensive. Even though the hijack of their ships lasted for barely half an hour, it was enough time for the almost endless stream of Grimm to take control, sending the people of Vale into a frenzy of fear and panic.

In the middle of these chaotic skies was a a lone figure, clad in a clashing outfit of pink, white and brown, struggling as she slowly floated down while holding on to her umbrella. Both laughing and cursing at herself for giving letting her opponent catch her off guard, she skilfully evaded the flying Grimm around her as she gently brought herself down back towards the ground. She looked back and saw, to her dismay, the Atlas cruiser she was on disintegrate. Like a rock it fell back down to Remnant, explosions rocking it all the way down. She gritted her teeth upon seeing a red-hooded figure pogo-shoot her own way back down, with no signs of her own partner making it out of their former predicament.

As the skies slowly cleared and she got closer to the ground, she grabbed on the the highest tree branch within her reach and perched herself on top. Surveying the area around her, she figured that she was in a forest of some sort near the outskirts of Vale. The cruiser they were on crashed a couple of miles to the west, towards the direction of the school. She could still see the flames coming from its direction, though she didn't know if it was the ship or the city of Vale itself burning to ground. She hoped it was the later, not simply because she somewhat relished the thought of Vale's destruction, but also because it meant a higher chance of her partner surviving. Undaunted, she leapt down and made her way towards the wreck.

Taking the guise of a local police officer, she entered the north east suburbs of Vale. She trekked towards the chaos while the rest of the populace ran in terror in the opposite direction. Around her were hundreds of Grimm engaged with hundreds of Atlas mechs, with the occasional huntsman assisting. She decided to avoid fighting either human, Faunus or even Grimm to avoid putting attention on herself, but all the while she resisted the urge to strike the huntsmen she saw down. Even though her goal was to reach the wreck of the Atlas cruiser, her impulse to test herself against the best huntsmen she could find was almost irresistible. She could feel herself smirk every time she felt like she had an opening to strike one down, but in the end she chose not too. Not right now at least.

The buildings were already crumbling as she made herself through the wide streets outside Vale's metropolitan core. Grimm had already made their way almost in every street and alley in Vale, courtesy of a what was the first large scale invasion of a major city in perhaps a hundred years. She couldn't help but smile at herself for what she had helped achieve. All this mayhem, all this chaos, all this terror in the eyes of Vale's citizens, she had helped bring it all out. She was, in a word, proud. For what it was worth, they had succeeded, but she still had to find her partner if they were to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

As she made her way ever so closer to the wreck of the cruiser, she eventually managed to see clearer the remains of Beacon's central tower, now all but a wreck pointing itself to the sky. She was slightly shocked as she saw the outline of the giant Grimm they had summoned perched as if frozen on the very top. Half a dozen Bullheads buzzed around the tower's immediate vicinity, apparently trying to make sense of what had just happened. She too was puzzled at what kind of enormous power could stop it dead in its tracks, a beast so massive and powerful that Cinder had mentioned on occasion that it would be the harbinger of Beacon's destruction. All that remained of it was a silhouette, stopped in time on the very structure it was supposed to destroy. She felt herself worry even more as to the fate of their plan, and the fate of her partner.

The buildings of north west Vale that started out as rows of houses eventually gave way to high rises. As the smell of salt in the air began to enter her nose, she realized she was getting close to the western coast of the city. Her mind raced through the possible locations of the wreck, already mortified at the idea that the wreck might have crashed into the sea. As she thought of her contingencies should the wreck be in the water, she eventually found herself just beyond a small, fenced off clearing littered with tents. On one end of the clearing was a makeshift landing pad where a couple of Bullheads were taxied. Another Bullhead had just landed with medical crew carting off almost a dozen wounded people into the tents. She figured that this was a field hospital for the victims of the Grimm invasion. She became elated at the prospect that, perhaps, her partner might have been rescued and brought here. Even though everyone by now knew who he was, the medical teams wouldn't deny him medical care if he was injured. Realizing that this was the best place to look for him, she headed inside.

Now disguised as a nurse, she made her way into the tents. They were full of people in varying states of injury. Some had limbs ripped or cut off. In another tent people had various stab wounds and other penetrating injuries. One tent in fact was a makeshift morgue, full of corpses covered in white sheets and their corresponding friends and relatives wailing in agony. In the one closest to the surgical tent she saw a familiar face: A young sleeping blonde, now missing her right arm. She suppressed the urge to laugh as she watched the blonde's stump of a right arm slowly get soaked with blood. She knew this person wasn't worth her time now, as she would no longer be a cause for concern without her trusted gauntlets.

In another tent, however, was someone who made her blood boil. A red cloaked girl was also sleeping comfortably on her bed in one corner of the tent. She felt a surge of anger and hatred swell inside her at the very thought that this girl had made it out alive, while her partner was still missing. Within her reach, she grabbed a scalpel. She gripped it tightly in her hand as she approached the sleeping girl. She stood at her bedside, scalpel in hand, and once making sure that the tent was empty of medical personel, she brought her hand above the young girl's face.

"We've found the wreck!"

A mere second before she would have brought her hand down with the full weight of her body, a shout emerged from outside. Putting the scalpel on the bedside table, she went outside and overheard the words of the rescue teams about an Atlas cruiser that had crashed just a few miles to the north, along the coast. She knew immediately this was the wreck she was looking for. Hurrying into the rescue team's tent she quickly disguised herself into a field medic and hopped aboard the Bullhead headed for the wreck alongside other rescue teams.

It took a few minutes for them to reach the crashed cruiser. It was, quite literally, a wreck. The cruiser was broken apart in three places with flames emanating from almost every hole and tear. Fire crews doused the flames with sea water in an almost futile attempt to put them out. The periphery of the vessel was littered with dead Grimm and broken mechs. There were no signs of life as rescue crews pulled out body after body, all of them dead. She inspected every corpse to come out of the vessel, and none of them were her partner's. Eventually no more bodies were pulled out, yet she could not enter the vessel itself as the flames still burned heavily, the cruiser's plentiful Dust stores feeding the raging fires.

She had one choice. She jumped up on the wreckage and made her way onto the deck, the very same place where she and her partner fought that red-hooded girl mere hours ago. Near the command tower was a decaying corpse of a large Grimm. In front of the Grimm's corpse was a sight that widened her eyes. There, stuck upright on the deck, was a cane with a black bowler hat hanging on top. The hat and cane were pristine and clean unlike the rest of the ship and its remains. It stood proudly on the deck, surrounding by the remains of all the Grimm and mechs.

Smiling, she took the bowler hat and put it on her head. She took the cane and strutted towards the far end of the deck like she was dancing. He eyes changes to dark green. She looked towards the the starry horizon to the west.

He was alive. She knew it.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **I distinctly remember reading somewhere that Roman was confirmed dead by... someone? Probably just hearsay, then again, one doesn't exactly just escape from a Grimm's stomach, bowler hat and all. I'm more akin to believe that he's not exactly dead, probably something like a 50/50 possibility.**

 **On the other hand I wasn't expecting to write a Neo bit for this, but the idea popped up while I was at work and I ended up exploring what exactly she'd end up doing during the entire chaos after being... Mary Poppins'd out of the finale.**


	5. Glynda: This Is Our Home

"Where could he be…"

Glynda Goodwitch stood on a pier by the western docks, looking at the airships buzzing around in the night sky under the glow of the moon. Just minutes ago she was completely inundated with status reports from all over the city and from within the academy, trying to organize the area's remaining forces against the Grimm and the White Fang. A few hours had just passed since the field hospital and headquarters were properly set up. Atlas and huntsmen forces had begun retaking the city, however the academy itself was still infested with Grimm. With the giant Grimm literally entombed on top of the tower, nothing they could do would have prepared them for the hordes of Grimm slowly making their way into the school grounds. At least now things were starting to be put under control, and she managed to find a brief bit of respite from the chaos. She was glad because she was now de facto headmaster of Beacon Academy.

Or what was left of it.

"Ozpin… where are you…"

She put away her scroll after reading some latest field reports from their huntsmen. As it stood, majority of the remaining students have been evacuated to the field hospital or in the outlying areas. No students were killed, thankfully, but many were injured, some seriously. She had just read the report on Yang's operation when a familiar face appeared beside her, carrying a cup of coffee.

"How you holding up?"

"Fine I guess. All the students have been accounted for. How are your nieces?"

"They'll be fine. They're made from tough stock. Nothing they can do about Yang's arm though, and the docs say Ruby's just exhausted."

"I see… they've been through a lot today… probably more than anyone here. I heard Ms. Schnee was picked up by her father?"

"Yeah. He arrived right after I left to survey the tower again. There's a lot more Grimm in the school now than when we rescued them. No way are we getting close with the way things are now."

Qrow handed a cup to Glynda. With one sip she felt the fatigue disappear from her body. The taste of the coffee was awfully familiar.

"Isn't this…"

"The same brand Ozpin always drinks? Yeah, it was the only thing they managed to salvage from his office before even more Grimm arrived."

Qrow took out his canteen as Glynda gulped down the rest of her coffee.

"You're drinking again?"

"Like I said, these are THE best times for a drink."

He handed her his canteen of whiskey, which she promptly pushed away. Having consumed her coffee, Glynda began walking back up to the hill where the field hospital stood. Qrow walked beside her. He took out Ozpin's cane and handed it over.

"Well since you're pretty much headmaster now, you should hold on to it. You know, since he'll probably want it back."

"… You keep it."

"What?"

"Ozpin once told me that, should anything ever happen to him, the one who's going to carry on his work should hold on it to. Right now, that's you. Me… I'm staying here."

"What are you talking about?"

"Qrow… there are powers at work here we've only ever heard him speak off. Great and terrifying powers. With James off to answer to the Atlas Central Committee about what happened here, it's just you and me. Someone has to stay here and rebuild. That's… going to be me."

"…"

"He's gone Qrow. You're the only one with the skill to find out who and what is really out there. Plus… your niece… if she really is one of them, then she's going to play a role in this far greater than any of us could possibly imagine."

"And yet… somehow… I wish she didn't have to."

"She needs to know, Qrow. About what she is, what she has, and what she can do."

Qrow kicked the dirt from under her feet in anger.

"And that's what scares me Glynda. She's just like her mother. A strong sense of justice. Once she knows what she's capable of, she'll use it for this. All of this. We all know what happened to her mother."

Glynda stopped dead in her tracks and hung her head, trying to force back a tear.

"No we don't Qrow. All we know was that she failed. We don't know what happened to her. She might still be alive out there."

"Glynda… you and Tai are the only ones who still-"

"Don't say it. Don't you dare say it!"

A single tear fell to the ground.

"She was my friend too okay! Not just yours!"

Glynda rubbed her eyes and desperately tried to compose herself. On the side of the street heading up to the field hospital was a set of chairs, tipped over in the chaos. She set it back up and sat down, taking out her handkerchief to wipe her face. Qrow sat beside her.

"Not a day goes by that I don't regret not stopping her. All of us… we all knew we were sending her somewhere no one's even gone to before. You said it yourself: it's a suicide mission. Even then she still wanted to go. She knew she'd be leaving behind her kids, her husband and her friends, but she still insisted…"

"Glynda… we all agreed to it. Even Ozpin. We all agreed because Summer herself demanded to go."

"I know…"

The pair sat there in silence for a few moments. Glynda stared at the sky as Qrow finished the rest of his drink. After a few minutes of silence his Scroll started ringing. It was Yang.

"Hey kid should you even be… what? Slow down I can't… wait… what do you mean she's gone?"

Qrow put down the phone hurriedly.

"What's happening?"

"That was Yang. Her partner, Blake Belladona, just disappeared from the safe zone. I'm going to go find her."

"What are you talking about? You can't leave! Look… since she's a student, I'll try to get some of the staff to look for her, but not while Grimm are still around."

"Glynda… no… no you're right. Sorry."

The two of them got up from their chairs and continued the rest of the way to the field hospital. Once there, some huntsmen began giving their reports in person to Glynda.

"I'm gonna call Tai and… well he doesn't know yet what happened to Ruby and Yang. While we're still getting a signal. Should be enough to get through to Patch."

Qrow headed to the central watchtower to get a clearer signal. Glynda had started instructing the huntsmen teams and updating them on the current situation in a small meeting tent.

"… as it stands the school has been cordoned off by Atlas troops. For some unknown reason, the Grimm are now leaving the city and are congregating around the communications tower where the giant flying creature now lies frozen. All available huntsmen teams are to man the checkpoints in and out of the school in twelve hour shifts. The teams arriving from the surrounding areas within the next hour will patrol the city and flush out any remaining creatures. Once things in the city have settled down… then we'll think about retaking the school. Any questions?"

No hands were raised in the room of about 30 hunstmen, all of whom looked like seasoned veterans who have taken out their fair share of Grimm.

"Alright then, move out. Be careful out there."

The huntsmen dispersed with their teams. Glynda, again feeling exhausted with all the sudden extra responsibility heaped on her shoulders, slumped on the desk. She refilled the cup Qrow had given her with coffee to perk herself up, but the last few hours have been the most harrowing of her life, physically and mentally. There were times while working under Ozpin where she wondered how he could even handle all the pressure and responsibility he had, things she never imagined she could do herself, and yet now she finds herself in the middle of perhaps Vale's most tragic event of recent history. As she pondered what to do now, Qrow stepped into the tent.

"Well looks like Tai's going to kill me when he gets here and… you okay?"

Glynda looked at Qrow and sighed.

"There's a reason Ozpin's been at his position for years. He'd be handling this situation much better than I could have ever hoped to."

Qrow sat on the desk and looked outside. They could see a Schnee Company Bullhead preparing to take off with Weiss just stepping on board.

"There she goes. Rube's not going to like this when she wakes up."

As the Bullhead finally departed with Weiss and her father on board, Winter stepped into the tent. She made one passing glance at Qrow, who got off the desk, and went straight for Glynda.

"James' heading back to Atlas?"

"The Committee… they're very… concerned. With transcontinental communication down, General Ironwood had just briefed them on the events here. Concerned is perhaps a vast understatement."

Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"So his assistant steps in to lead in his absence? Doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence here."

Winter put a piercing glare on Qrow, who stealthily evaded it with a swig of his hooch.

"In any case, the situation's finally getting under control. Ms. Schnee will take command of Atlas forces here. Qrow… you take care of your nieces. As I said, they're in this deeper than they know, even though I wish they didn't have to be."

Qrow and Winter bid their farewells to Glynda and simultaneously headed out. Realizing they were side by side as they exited the tent, Winter shot a heated look at Qrow, who quickly dodged it with a sip of alcohol. With both of them gone, Glynda knew she had a few minutes to herself. She headed out as well and stood on the side of the hill facing to the city. Smoke still bellowed from many buildings. The sound of ambulance sirens still occasionally echoed through the air, often accompanied by a Grimm screeching. It was still a far, far better sight now than it was just a few hours ago, when most of the screams being heard were of humans and Faunus running in terror. As she looked off into the distance, she was again approached by one of the young huntresses.

"Miss Goodwitch? We just received word of some debris blocking access to a residential area south of here. There are still some Grimm in that area. If we could-"

"I'll be right there. Give me a moment."

The young huntress smiled and bowed before. Glynda remembered. This young huntress was a something of a troublemaker while she was in school a few years back. Glynda remembered having to talk to her a more than a few times in her office for always getting into fights at a drop if a hat. She recently graduated from Beacon and had apparently been one of the first to answer the call of the school at the onset of the attack. Almost all of the huntsmen and huntresses who answered the call were fresh graduates of Beacon, who dropped everything and headed straight back to their school when the Grimm came flying in. She began remembering their faces one by one, having taught all of them before they left Beacon's halls.

"You were… one of our students correct? I'm sure you've been in my office a few times."

"Heh. Didn't think you'd remember Ms. Goodwitch. When we heard what happened here, my team and I got on with the first responder crew heading to the city. Heck, when the other teams heard they just got on the first flights back, no questions asked."

"I see. I'm glad."

"You don't need to thank us Ms. Goodwitch. After all, Beacon's our home too."

"I… thank you."

A small armored car drove up the road and honked its horn, ready to pick Glynda up. Already inside were a few huntsmen and huntresses, more familiar faces to her, being former students. She smiled at each and every one of them as she got on the passenger side.

"Alright, let's get going."


	6. Ironwood: Never Again

"This a very serious breach of our systems, general..."

"We have already traced the source of the hack. Rest assured our engineers are currently wiping all traces of the code from our internal networks."

"That is not the point, general."

Ironwood let out an inaudible sigh. He sat on his captain chair within his quarters aboard the fleet's flagship. He conducted himself with all the dignity and poise of a military man befitting his position, yet even he could feel the weight of the world bearing down on his shoulders. The Atlas Central Committee has made him very much aware of his failings.

"You are aware that not only did a wanted criminal escape his cell aboard your fleet, he also managed to gain access to our intelligence and security protocols. Who knows what data he managed to steal?"

"We are currently inves-"

"Not to mention Project Penny! You convinced us that this project would eliminate the need for human sacrifices in Aura research, and we gave you all the resources you need. Resources that would have gone to improving our android technology. What do you have to show for it?"

"…"

"The committee is not pleased, general. Rest assured that the council will want to have a nice long chat with you when you get back."

"I see…"

The councilman abruptly terminated the link in his anger. Ironwood clasped his hands together on his desk in thought, fully aware of what awaits him when he gets back. There would definitely be a full investigation of the events in Vale. He would be at the very least suspended from his duties as head of the armed forces. There was a chance he would be relieved of his command, at worst court martial and even imprisonment. There has never been a breach of Atlas military security of this magnitude before.

Ironwood got up and poured himself a cup of coffee, the same brand Ozpin drinks, which he received from Beacon's headmaster just before the Vytal festival started. Despite the many constant conflicts he and Ozpin had regarding policy and the direction the huntsmen of Remnant were going, he had always valued Ozpin's advice and friendship. He peered outside his cabin window, which gave him a commanding view of the city of Vale. There was a lot less smoke now coming out from Vale's buildings, and fewer muzzle flashes from gunfire within the city streets. Many Bullhead transports still flew the skies that was now almost under his fleets control, mostly flying rescue missions for the thousands of injured people strewn about the city to the various field hospitals that have been set.

He sighed as he sat back on his chair. As military man he was always prepared for war. But this… it wasn't a war. It was a massacre.

His communication console began ringing.

"General? This is Winter Schnee reporting. I've just arrived at the field headquarters."

"How's the situation now?"

"Much better it seems. Grimm activity had dropped across the city. Our forces have also not encountered any White Fang forces in the last hour. With what had just happened on the tower with Ms. Rose, it's likely they've retreated. Our forces are doing one last sweep for them."

"… And of Ozpin?"

"… Aside from his cane, nothing. Neither Ms. Goodwitch nor… Qrow have any idea. With the way things are now it would not be safe to search for him."

Ironwood looked at a picture on his desk. A framed photo of him, Ozpin, Glynda and Qrow standing in front of the machine that was supposed to transfer A Maiden's power to a willing host.

"It's fine. Whatever Ozpin's up to, he definitely has a reason. If he doesn't want to be found then it's just going to be like looking for a needle in a dust stack. We just have to trust his judgement. How about the students?"

"Thankfully no student was killed during the assault. A lot of injured, but no fatalities. It's a minor miracle to be sure."

"And your sister and her friends?"

"My sister is fine. My father... he came all the way here to take her back. Her friends are doing well. Ms. Xiao Long is recuperating after her surgery. There's nothing we can do for her arm though. As for Ms. Rose-"

"Has she regained consciousness?"

"Not yet sir. Her power must have taken a toll on her, physically. Qrow and the doctors however assure me that she's just tired."

"I see... good news indeed..."

"Sir... if I may ask... about her power... and also the reason why you're so concerned about her..."

Ironwood reclined back on his chair and stared at the ceiling for a few moments, watching the slow rotation of the ceiling fan in silence.

"Let's just say that we owe her mother a lot. Something that she paid for with dearly. Something that, in an ideal world, her daughter shouldn't have to carry on in her stead."

"General... is this-"

"Classified information."

"I... sorry general. I spoke out of line."

"It's fine... Ms. Schnee when Mr. Xiao Long arrives, please ask him for Ms. Xiao Long's specifics on her arm. Relay the information to the cybernetics division at earliest convenience. They'll know what to do. They didn't promise anything, but they will do their best."

"General?"

"It's... the least I can do. For his daughter... and his wife. Dismissed."

Ironwood terminated the connection and slowly rose from his chair. Taking one last sip of his coffee, he headed out of his quarters. Even though the situation on the ground had decreased somewhat, the halls of the flagship was still full of crewmen scurrying about their duties. Many of these were young and had never been in an actual combat scenario; after the initial panic had subsided they were still mostly in the dark about what led to these unfortunate turn of events. Those that were not completely occupied by their duties managed to notice him and lined the corridor in salute. He saluted back and bade them to go back to their duties. Ironwood boarded the elevator and headed down to the engineering deck. Just like any Atlas Robotics factory, the sound of operating machinery blocked out everything else. Various robotic arms and belts hovered above the assembly and repair lines. The staff were fully clothed in protective gear. Various broken Atlas droids and mechs were under repair and being salvaged after the attack on the city. The general himself headed for a small room in the back, away from the noise and the chaos.

Inside the room were a group of engineers surrounding a table. On the table was Penny Polendina, recently ripped apart during the Vytal Tournament. Her pieces were undergoing diagnostics to ascertain the level of damage.

"How is she?"

A bearded man in slightly dirty overalls looked up after inspecting Penny's severed arm.

"I don't imagine the professor will be too pleased with what happened to his daughter."

"But is she repairable?"

Ironwood looked at her deactivated state. The engineers had carefully removed her head from her torso to check on her memory drives. Wires were coming out of her neck and ears, connected to the ship's central computer.

"Thankfully her memory drive failsafes activated in time. Her head and torso can still be used, however we will need to replace her severed arm and legs. Too much damage on those. When we reactivate her again she should remember up to the point where she was cut down, but we won't be able to tell until then."

"I see. Thank you. Carry on."

Taking his leave of the engineering team, he headed back up the elevator, this time to the bridge. His executive officer was giving instructions to the ships returning home. These ships were those who bore the brunt of the attack; many had smoking and gaping holes on their exteriors while others suffered less. The ones that remained above the skies of Vale were the token force assigned to maintain security and to wipe out the remaining Grimm.

"General on deck!"

The bridge staff saluted Ironwood as he sat on the captain's chair.

"At ease gentlemen. What's the status on the returning ships?"

The XO pulled out the damage reports on the screen.

"So far we have the 6 cruisers maintaining proper cruising speed and altitude alongside the flagship, general. Fire crews have contained the damage to our ships. They aren't in any condition to fight, but they'll make it back to port."

"Good. How about the salvage operations on the downed ships?"

"... We lost 7 cruisers. 2 crashed into the sea and it will take time before underwater crews will arrive to salvage the wrecks. 1 ship crashed just outside the southern walls of the city. Bullheads have evacuated the surviving crew members, but with Grimm now congregating in the area it is still to unsafe to salvage the wreck. The rest are going on as scheduled."

"I see. Alright then. Full course back to Atlas."

Just as the ships all turned around to start heading for Atlas, Ironwood's private line began beeping.

"... Qrow?"

"James. Are you alone?"

"Give me a moment."

Ironwood signaled to his XO that he would be taking a call back in his quarters. Ironwood hastily returned to his room. Qrow wanted privacy, meaning it was likely something important.

"What is it?"

"James, have you filled in your council about what happened."

"For the most part, yes."

"And about what happened on the CCT?"

"We managed to stop the beast in its tracks on the tower using the combined power of our fleet. However, its presence on the tower is attracting more Grimm to it, so our forces are maintaining an observational holding pattern around the academy."

"A believable reason as any. Also... this'll make what I have to say a little easier."

"Which is?"

"... Tai's on his way to Vale, in fact he'll be here within the next 2 hours or so. He's going to take his daughters home, and no one's stopping him."

"I see. That is... good actually. Those girls have suffered enough."

"... Heh. For a straight arrow military man, you can be surprising sometimes. Here I was actually preparing for the possibility of you taking my nieces away to fight this war for you. Especially Ruby."

A lesser man would have taken offense at Qrow's words. It didn't faze Ironwood, if but for the fact that before all of this, it was a possibility he did not completely rule out.

"... A soldier forced to fight is the worst kind of soldier. The best soldiers are those who fight for a reason stronger than any weapon, than any Grimm. This is not their war... this is ours... and perhaps we helped start it. Plus... Mr. Xiao Long has already lost too much. I do not have the right to ask more from him."

"... You do know he still hasn't forgiven you for Summer, right?"

"I don't expect it... nor do I deserve it."

"Just thought you should know. Still, knowing Ruby, she'd want to get back in this the moment she wakes up."

"... Just like her mother."

"Just like her mother. Anyway... thanks for keeping quiet about all this."

"I know."

With that, Qrow terminated the call. The ships were now ready to leave the skies of Vale for Atlas. He stood up and once again stared at the city below. Smoke was still coming out of some buildings, with occasional muzzle flashes lighting up houses and dark alleys. Bullheads continued making their rounds in the sky, still delivering even more wounded in the field hospitals and dropping more huntsmen in the field. The Battle for Vale was still far from over. He returned to his chair and signalled his XO for the fleet to depart.

"... I cannot fail again."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

A lot of people used to hate Ironwood for a variety of reasons. Understandable I guess, but of course a lot of that changed with his general badassitude in the final episodes of Volume 3. In a way I believe he carries much of the fault and much of the guilt for what happened here, so I made this in order to explore his mindset a little more.

The next chapter of With or Without You should be out by the end of the week. As usual, reviews are welcome.


	7. Yang: Frankly I Don't Give A Damn

The roaring sound of engines blasted through the air. An Atlas airship bearing the Schnee insignia slowly rose from the ground and tilted its engines forward, pointing the nose towards the sea. Inside, Weiss looked out of her window to see a young blonde, her missing right arm bandaged into a freshly cleaned stump, waving at her from the entrance of a tent. All Weiss could do was smile and wave back as the airship began to accelerate to cruising speed. Within seconds, it was gone, out over the wide open sea.

There was nothing Yang could do but wave and watch as the airship disappeared into the dark horizon. Weiss was gone, taken back home, something she insisted Weiss agree to for her own safety and for her mother's sake. Despite agreeing to it, she felt a deep, stinging sense of loneliness within her. Her team was now all but a shell of its former self. Ruby was out of commission, Weiss had gone home to Atlas and… her partner, her best friend, had disappeared. Overall, nothing stung more than this sense of abandonment by someone she trusted with all her heart.

Yang, holding her arm, sat down on a bench just outside her tent. A sense of abandonment she had never felt since that day all those years ago, when her father told her of what happened to her mother. In a way she felt even more betrayed, even more angry, with what had happened today. Raven might have been her mother, but she barely had any memories of the mother that had left her when she was just a baby. Blake was someone she had trusted, someone she had shared memories with, both good and bad. Someone she had both fought alongside with and fought for. This was the girl who was her partner, her best friend. Someone she had almost considered family. Almost, until today.

"I'm surprised you're well enough to get up from bed."

"I'm surprised you're still alive."

"Touché. Well at least that snark means you've sort of recovered."

Neptune Vasilias. Despite having a bandage on his face and arm, he was still fit and able to walk around. And joke around.

"I… sorry… you didn't deserve that…"

"It's okay. Have you seen… uh… Weiss around?"

"Is that really a question you should be asking right now? Anyway you just missed her. She just got picked up and heading back to Atlas."

"Wha-? Seriously?"

Yang did not even bother with a reply. The look on her face said it all. One look and Neptune already knew what exactly was going through her mind. The raging vortex of emotions go through her heart and mind was a minefield he couldn't possibly tread.

"I see… then I guess you've heard?"

"… Sun told me. Just a while ago."

Neptune quietly sat down beside Yang. He took a look at her cut up arm, or at least the stump where it would have been. It was one thing to lose all your friends to this unmitigated disaster, it was another thing altogether to lose the part of you that would have allowed you to do something about it. Without her arm, Neptune could only wonder how Yang could still hope to fight for herself and for her friends. If he knew anything about Yang in these few short months, it's that she'd fight until her last breath.

But now he could tell, as dense as he was. There was something different about her. She looked… lost… soulless.

Broken.

"Actually… I haven't told the guys yet but… I also have to go. Like Weiss. I was actually looking for her so I could say goodbye."

Yang didn't respond. All she did was nod slowly.

"I don't really know how to tell them that my parents pulled some strings to get me out of here. There's barely any news about what happened here; my parents only learned about it through their military connections. Don't actually know how the guys will react."

Neptune looked at Yang, who still didn't say anything. He leaned back and sighed, pondering what to do with his dilemma.

"… Just tell them. Be honest. I'm sure… they'll understand."

Yang spoke so softly it was like a whisper. Neptune was surprised she even spoke.

"Your team… all of us… we all just went through hell today. They fought by your side. You being honest… it's the least you can do."

The sound of loud engines cut their conversation. A rickety Bullhead, one that has clearly seen better days, began its descent to the landing pad just a few meters away from where the two were sitting. Yang instantly recognized it as the backup transport that Signal Academy Staff and students sometimes used on their missions and official trips. She knew without a doubt who was onboard that ship. She approached the Bullhead cautiously.

Among the sea of worried parents that disembarked was a grizzled man with blonde hair. He carried himself with an air and face of a person who has seen and experienced many things, but even such a face couldn't completely hide the extreme worry in his heart. Finally getting out of the crowd, he took one good look at Yang before sprinting to her and giving her a big hug, strong enough to pick her off her feet.

"Yang! Thank goodness you're alright!"

"I'm fine. I'm fine dad. You can put me down now."

Regaining his senses, Taiyang Xiao Long put his daughter down and looked her over. She looked relatively uninjured, save for the fact that she was lacking an appendage. The stump was still slightly bloody as she was only fresh out of a surgery a few hours ago.

"Why didn't they-"

"It was too mangled up to reattach. I…"

Yang looked away, fighting back tears, before she could even finish her sentence. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Neptune, flashing her a thumbs up sign and moving his lips as if to say "thank you." Yang smiled and regained a bit of her composure. Neptune slowly walked away to return to his team. Yang wiped her few tears on her father's shirt.

"Anyway dad... before anything else... about Ruby's power... did you-"

"Yes... I knew..."

Yang wasn't even shocked anymore. After today, Cinder could fall from the sky in front of them and she wouldn't bat an eyelash. She felt a sharp pain from her stump that radiated all the way to her neck, causing her to reach for it. Her father, already consumed by worry, helped her back to the tent and sat her down on her bed. He took a chair fro the side and sat down as well.

"After her mother died... I wished to high heaven that even though she had her eyes, perhaps she didn't get her power. Everything your uncle told me otherwise... but I lived in denial. Whether or not Ruby inherited the power from her mother, she needed to know what this power was. It's my fault for delaying it this long."

Tai, already exhausted from worry, began to show signs of fatigue. Not just physical, but moreso emotional. Yang could tell that her father carried with him some very deep emotional scars, things that he had never spoken of before. This power that Summer and Ruby had was one of them. She knew how her father had shut down all those years ago from losing his precious Raven and Summer, but only now could she really understand the weight of the burdens he carried. Tai slowly slumped on his chair with a look of absolute destitution. Yang did the only thing she knew she could do.

She got up and, despite the pain on her stump, gave her father a big hug. Even bigger than what he gave her.

"Am I interrupting anything?"

A gruff, somewhat slurred voice came from the tent entrance. Qrow was holding a scroll flashing with images of gunfire and sounds of screeching Grimm. Tai rose from his seat and regained himself.

"Thank Yang... Qrow! We need to talk. Yang... get some rest. I'll go see Ruby after I speak with your uncle."

Tai calmly walked out of the tent with Qrow by his side. Yang for her part wasn't in the mood for a rest. After making sure that her father and uncle were gone, she headed out as well, this time for a small makeshift cemetery just beyond the field hospital fence. Cemetery was in itself not so much a fitting term for the place: it was a field of plain wooden markers on the ground that symbolized graves for those who died but their bodies could not recover. A small grassy field that used to be a local park, surrounded by tall trees that were not either partially burnt or uprooted in the chaos. The flowers that graced it were now either trampled upon or burned. It was barely half as big as it once was, and whatever of the ground was clear of rubble was used for this makeshift cemetery. One could barely set foot into the area without hearing the sound of people wailing for their lost loved ones, without even a body to properly bury. That was the general feeling permeated with all the mourners here.

Nora, for all her happy-go-lucky personality, was not immune. She stood above an empty, unmarked grave. On the wooden post was a singed tiara and a placard with a name. Yang approached, and she didn't even need to read the name to know whose it was.

"You're alone. That's odd. Where's... Ren?"

Nora looked uncharacteristically solemn, standing there all alone. Yang stood beside her knelt in prayer for a few seconds in front of the grave.

"When he learned what happened with Blake he... stormed off. Said he'd try to go after her."

"If Blake doesn't want to be found she won't be found... and honestly I really don't care..."

"Yang..."

"Let her do what she wants. Tell Ren he's just wasting his time... I really don't care..."

Yang stood up and patted a surprised Nora on the shoulder.

"Where's Jaune?"

Nora looked down on the grave. A few seconds of deep silence came between the two before Nora managed to courage to speak.

"He was here before you came. He left and... yeah I think it's better we leave him alone for now. I can't imagine anyone else among us who hurts more than him..."

"... I guess you're right. How about you... will you be okay?"

Nora looked at Yang for the first time since she arrived. She gave Yang a big smile despite the fact that her eyes were red and her eyelids completely swollen. Anyone could tell she had been crying her eyes out.

"I'll be fine. Well... aside from two fractured ribs and maybe a bruised kidney anyway. Still... lots of Grimm legs need to be broken. Wish I could be out there fighting."

"..."

Yang couldn't utter a word as Nora again knelt in front of the grave. At this point Nora had wanted to be alone, so she took it as her queue to leave. She headed back to the hospital just a short walk away. Her father and uncle were having a rather heated argument when they both saw Yang approach. Realizing that they should talk again when cooler heads prevailed, Qrow returned to the command tent and Tai went to her daughter.

"Ruby still asleep dad?"

"Yeah. In any case she's stable so... it's time to bring both of you home. They're about to load Huey into the Bullhead."

"... You sure this is a good idea dad?"

"To be honest home would be a lot safer than here. I... I don't want to let you two out of my sight."

"I... understand."

Tai headed into the recovery tent to get Ruby. At that moment she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Nora, who had apparently headed back not long after Yang had left.

"Don't worry. I'll tell everybody. Just... take care of Ruby."

"... Thanks."

Tai came out with a pair of orderlies pushing a sleeping Ruby out on a stretcher. Yang walked beside her sister, who was still snoring softly on her bed. Tai gently stroked her youngest daughter's hair.

"... Time to go home, little sis."


	8. TaiYang: Just A Father, Not A Huntsman

"… How long to Vale, sir?"

"Should be just a few minutes out, professor."

"I see. Thank you."

The grizzled blonde man with an unkempt beard returned to his seat inside the transport. Ever since the ship left the Signal Academy landing pad, carrying with it an assortment of supplies, medical personal, huntsmen and more than a few worried parents, he had been pacing inside nonstop. It was quite an unusual sight for a Signal Academy instructor known for his calm demeanor even under pressure. Here he was just like any parent with a child in the middle of the chaos that was erupting in Vale, overcome with worry and panic. A parent is still a parent, whether they were the flimsiest of cowards or the bravest of warriors. He was clearly the latter, a seasoned veteran of many battles, but one look at his current state and one wouldn't realize that.

"Don't worry Mr. Xiao Long. We're almost there."

The pilot pointed out to the horizon where the coast of Vale started to form. The moon was already shimmering high in the sky, illuminating the outline of the city where clouds of smoke rose from the ground. The silhouettes of giant Atlas Cruisers were outlined against the moon's light as they circled the skies above the city, with the occasional gatling fire coming out of their gun ports. Just the sight of gunfire told him that the fight was still far from over. The occasional shrieks of Grimm could still be heard from the skies beyond. He was used to the sound of Grimm, having heard them all his life, but it was the first time on many a year that the very same sound he was accustomed too elicited fear rather than courage from within him.

"Grimm are still flying around, I can tell. How safe is the approach?"

"A pair of Atlas fighters are incoming to guide us in. We'll be landing in a moment."

A pair of fighters took positions on each side of transport, slowly guiding it in on the approach towards the command center. Tai could see the ramshackle of tents serving as both the command post and field hospital, with dozens of huntsmen coming and out of the area as medical personal brought in the ever growing number of injured and dead. He could only grit his teeth at something he never though he'd ever see during his lifetime.

The transport landed softly on the makeshift helipad. Tai opened the hatch from the inside as off duty huntsmen saluted him. He recognized some of them as former students back in Signal, now full-fledged Huntsmen. They started offloading supplies as the distraught parents who came in with them funneled out looking for their children.

"Sorry guys. I'm here as a father today, not as a Huntsman."

The young huntsmen smiled at his remarks as they collected the supplies. He looked behind them and saw a young, long haired girl with the same color hair as he had, standing there in front of a tent and looking at him, with a stump where her right arm used to be. He suddenly felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Yang! Thank goodness you're alright!"

"I'm fine. I'm fine dad. You can put me down now."

Regaining his senses, Taiyang Xiao Long put his daughter down and looked her over. She looked relatively uninjured, save for the fact that she was lacking an appendage. The stump was still slightly bloody as she was only fresh out of a surgery a few hours ago.

"Why didn't they-"

"It was too mangled up to reattach. I…"

Yang looked away, fighting back tears, before she could even finish her sentence. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Neptune, flashing her a thumbs up sign and moving his lips as if to say "thank you." Yang smiled and regained a bit of her composure. Neptune slowly walked away to return to his team. Yang wiped her few tears on her father's shirt.

"Anyway dad... before anything else... about Ruby's power... did you-"

"Yes... I knew..."

Yang wasn't even shocked anymore. After today, Cinder could fall from the sky in front of them and she wouldn't bat an eyelash. She felt a sharp pain from her stump that radiated all the way to her neck, causing her to reach for it. Her father, already consumed by worry, helped her back to the tent and sat her down on her bed. He took a chair fro the side and sat down as well.

"After her mother died... I wished to high heaven that even though she had her eyes, perhaps she didn't get her power. Everything your uncle told me otherwise... but I lived in denial. Whether or not Ruby inherited the power from her mother, she needed to know what this power was. It's my fault for delaying it this long."

Tai, already exhausted from worry, began to show signs of fatigue. Not just physical, but moreso emotional. Yang could tell that her father carried with him some very deep emotional scars, things that he had never spoken of before. This power that Summer and Ruby had was one of them. She knew how her father had shut down all those years ago from losing his precious Raven and Summer, but only now could she really understand the weight of the burdens he carried. Tai slowly slumped on his chair with a look of absolute destitution. Yang did the only thing she knew she could do.

She got up and, despite the pain on her stump, gave her father a big hug. Even bigger than what he gave her.

"Am I interrupting anything?"

A gruff, somewhat slurred voice came from the tent entrance. Qrow was holding a scroll flashing with images of gunfire and sounds of screeching Grimm. Tai rose from his seat and regained himself.

"Thank you Yang... Qrow! We need to talk. Yang... get some rest. I'll go see Ruby after I speak with your uncle."

Yang went back to her tent. The two older men headed for a small clearing behind the cluster of tents for a private conversation.

"So Tai what did you-"

Out of nowhere a punch connected, hitting Qrow square in the jaw with so much force that it knocked him to the ground. Tai could be seen caressing his hand, not realizing that Qrow's jaw was harder than it looked before he decided to throw the punch. Qrow was not as surprised as he thought he would be, partially expecting to be hit by Tai somewhere in the back of his mind. He spat out a bit of blood before he spoke again.

"… want to talk about."

"… Sorry."

"It's alright. Kinda deserved it anyway."

Tai reached out his hand to Qrow and pulled him up. Qrow dusted himself off as they stood in the grassy clearing that overlooked the road that led to the field center. The road itself was filled with incoming civilians who were fleeing the fighting, as well as huntsmen getting on trucks ready to hit the next Grimm hotspot.

"No you didn't. If it weren't for you I'd have lost both daughters in a single night."

"If it wasn't for me all this might have been prevented."

Tai looked at Qrow, perplexed.

"If I did my job right, we'd have known what they were planning and at least put up some better countermeasures. Hundred's dead, thousands injured, all in a single night. A lot of them just kids who barely just got into the academy. Can't even tell the hilt from the blade."

Qrow took another sip of his hootch, the smell of alcohol giving a calming effect on him before he even took a drop. Tai himself took a sip of tea from his canteen.

"Anyway Tai, that talk?"

Tai sighed as he looked towards the smoldering remains of some buildings just under the horizon. He had seen many a village reduced to rubble in his time hunting down Grimm, but he never thought an entire city would be under siege. In an age where Huntsmen numbered in the thousands and nations had their own armies, the idea of an urban center being attacked by a horde of Grimm unlike anything anyone alive has ever seen before was unthinkable. Now, with the city of Vale in a state of emergency, it is an idea the other nations may need to reconsider.

"Yes… well… about what happened to Ruby on top of the tower… was it really…"

"… Yes. The same as Summer."

"So Ozpin was right… Goddammit…"

Tai threw his canteen down on the ground with such force that it bounced and eventually rolled down the hill. He sat down on the ground with a forlorn look on his face. He knew deep down inside that the possibility of her daughter becoming like her mother had become reality. It meant a life of danger and expectations that, in her young age, she might very well not fulfill. He was terrified, above all, that she might end up like her mother all those years ago.

"I knew… the moment Ozpin told us about what Summer had… I knew deep down somewhere that with her eyes… Ruby had it too. I should never have let her study to be a huntress…"

"And you think that would have stopped her?"

No. Tai knew that the answer was an obvious no. Ruby was just as headstrong as her mother. The moment her mind was filled of the stories of huntsmen and huntresses, as well as the exploits of her own parents, he knew she would go through with it no matter what he did.

The two sat there in silence for a few minutes before Qrow's scroll suddenly rang. He groggily picked up the call. It was Glynda.

"Qrow. We need some help over here at a collapsed building near a residential area south of the command center. Can you help?"

"Alright. Give me a moment and-"

Tai suddenly took the phone from Qrow, who in his state of mild inebriation didn't notice until Tai was already speaking.

"Ms. Goodwitch is that you?"

"Tai… is that you? Heard you were flying in but I didn't think you'd be here this early. Also you need to stop calling me Ms. Goodwitch. We're both huntsmen now, and I'm no longer your senior."

"Sorry. Anyway I'd like to butt in for a few moments. I need to make a request."

"Which is?"

"… I want to take my nieces back home. To Patch."

"… Go ahead. In truth they'd probably be safer there than here anyway. Other students are already being sent home to their families. Beacon Academy, for lack of a better word, is pretty much closed."

"… Thank you."

"Take care of your daughters. Especially Ruby."

He handed the scroll back to Qrow. Both of them headed back to the field unit and entered the the tent where Ruby was sleeping in. Tai bit his lip and caressed his daughter's forehead, breathing a sigh of relief that she was just asleep. He sat down on the chair beside her.

"Tai… in the end it's Rube's decision. While I have to admit that what she has, and what she can do, can help turn the tide for this war that just started, I'll make sure that no one will force her into it. At the end of the day, she's the only one who can decide if she'll use her powers or not."

Tai paused for a moment. He took from his pocket a small round locket. He opened it, and inside was a picture of him and Summer, holding a baby Ruby with a little Yang tugging on his leg.

"… I know."

"I'll join you in Patch as soon as I'm done here."

Both of them stood up and headed out. Qrow went back into the command tent as Yang, seeing her father, approach.

"Ruby still asleep dad?"

"Yeah. In any case she's stable so... it's time to bring both of you home. They're about to load Huey into the Bullhead."

"... You sure this is a good idea dad?"

"To be honest home would be a lot safer than here. I... I don't want to let you two out of my sight."

"I... understand."

Tai headed into the recovery tent to get Ruby. At that moment she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Nora, who had apparently headed back not long after Yang had left.

"Don't worry. I'll tell everybody. Just... take care of Ruby."

"... Thanks."

Tai came out with a pair of orderlies pushing a sleeping Ruby out on a stretcher. Yang walked beside her sister, who was still snoring softly on her bed. Tai gently stroked her youngest daughter's hair.

"... Time to go home, little sis."

Tai closed the hatch of the transport as the engines revved up. In a few moments the transport was at cruising altitude and headed back to the island of Patch. Yang, still tired from her ordeal, took a nap on a small bed near the front. The transport was carrying families who were bringing their children back home like Tai. Most of the children were injured while fighting, a few were unhurt. Tai looked at the back near the hatch exit and saw a young woman crying over a small coffin. The pilot had told him that it was young kid, about 8 years old, who was part of an exchange student program with a local school in Vale. The boy was killed leading a boarbatusk away from where his classmates were hiding. A young huntsman who was in the area arrived too late to save the boy, but managed to kill the Grimm and save the rest of class.

The young huntsman managed to recover the body, which fortunately was still in good shape despite the attack, and brought him back to the camp. As the body was lowered into the coffin and loaded into the transport, a group of teary-eyed huntsmen and huntresses stood beside the coffin as it was brought in, giving him the 21-gun salute as the coffin was loaded. The young huntsmen, hearing about what the boy had done to save his class, pinned his huntsman emblem on the coffin as it entered the transport, as the heroic boy was finally to be taken back home.

"The smallest coffins are always the heaviest to carry."

Tai could only lament on this fact as the transport speeded back to Patch. Back to their home.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Long ass time updating due to work and writer's block. Was supposed to get this and the next chapter of With or Without You last week, but only ended up with this one. The next chapter of WoWY is still ongoing. It's actually halfway done, once the next chapter is done the rest towards the end should be quicker.**

 **Anyway one last chapter after this one. When this series is over I'll be starting an AU White Rose story, title pending, which is inspired by the visual novels Planetarian and Eden*.**


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